Friendzoned
by Ri696q
Summary: Once Sasuke has realized that he is in love with his best friend, Naruto, he is in a deep crisis. Because how do you convince a girl you've known all your life to overstep the border of friendship and make her fall in love with you? Or worse, how do you make her realize there is a difference between boy and girl? Sasuke x female Naruto
1. The Beach Boys

**Disclaimer: Is this youtube? No, then it isn't necessary to put one here**

**Set in High School  
**

* * *

_**-The Beach Boys-**_

Uchiha Sasuke was quite the handsome young male.

He was the most popular guy in school and the majority of the girls had at some point in time had a crush on him. But really, who could blame them? He was an Uchiha after all, and apparently all Uchihas were born with exceptionally good looks; bottomless onyx eyes, dark raven hair, perfect pale skin, and a smirk that could melt even the coldest of hearts.

And Sasuke was very aware of that.

At first, when he and his peers had hit the age where looks suddenly started to matter, he had been very annoyed at the fact that he was handsome. Girls had practically been throwing themselves at him ever since then, and turning someone's affections down had become a weekly occurrence. He had hated it, but most importantly, he had hated the fan girls and their foolish feelings he would never reciprocate. They didn't even like him because they liked him. No, they only liked him because he was handsome, exceptionally good in school, and the fact that the other girls liked him. It was like a chain effect.

However, as time had passed, and the girls had learned that boys other than Sasuke actually existed – boys who looked almost as cool and were much nicer, therefore much better dating material – he had come to accept and even appreciate his lean body, his deep voice, and, of course, the features that had made him every girl's wet dream.

Well, _almost_ every girl's wet dream. Sasuke was quite sure that there were at least two girls in the entire school who had never considered him anything but a friend.

One was Hyuuga Hinata, a shy, polite girl who came from a wealthy family with great influence in politics. Naturally Sasuke couldn't be completely sure she had never seen him as more than a friend because she was so shy, but at least she had never confessed to him. And whenever she was close to someone she had just the tiniest crush on, she blushed - a lot. She never blushed in the vicinity of Sasuke.

The other girl who, had never seemed the least bit interested in him, was his best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. They were actually childhood friends and had known each other since… forever. In fact, he couldn't remember a time where Naruto wasn't in his life. Hell, they were even together on all the old pictures from when they were only infants. The reason for this could be found when one looked at Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto. The two women had been best friends since high school, and as such it was only natural that they wanted their children to be friends. It gave them a valid excuse for visiting each other all the time.

Because they were childhood friends, there had been a point in time where the blonde Uzumaki had been the only girl –aside from their mothers, of course – who had been allowed to touch Sasuke. Partly because he hated it when his fan girls desperately tried to cling to his arms, and partly because the notorious Sasuke fan club was being led by Naruto's cousin, Uzumaki Karin. The red-haired creep had been his biggest stalker ever, and somehow she had seen Naruto as a gateway to get close to Sasuke.

At least it had been like that when they were younger. Eventually Karin had snug into the men's locker room in the hopes of catching Sasuke off guard. Instead she had come face to face with a half-naked Houzuki Suigetsu, the president of the swimming club. They had hit it off right away, and the youngest Uchiha would forever hold the swimmer in high regards for taking Karin off his back.

After they had lost their leader, Sasuke's fan club had slowly dissolved and he rarely got any confessions nowadays. However, he was still the most popular guy in school, and he knew there were still a few girls out there whose hearts would beat a little faster every time he walked by. He didn't mind at all as long as they didn't bother him – it only served to boost his ego – and if he had to be completely, utterly honest, there was one girl whose heart he wished would beat a little faster every time he was near. The heart of one Uzumaki Naruto to be exact.

Yes, he knew falling for his best friend was very bad, but he just couldn't help it. It had also been completely unintentional; in fact, he hadn't even seen her as a female until the day he celebrated his 16th birthday at the beach.

* * *

The sun was bright and the weather hot as it usually was on Sasuke's birthday - one of the qualities of being born in July. As he always did, he had invited his family and friends to the beach for a day of fun and celebration, and when he said family, he also meant the Uzumaki family who was also present at any celebration the Uchiha family would host, and the other way around.

Minato, Fugaku, and uncle Obito were standing by the barbecue, caught up in a heated discussion about politics - or the latest football match, Sasuke wasn't sure. Mikoto and Kushina were lying on the beach tanning, giggling at their husbands while Itachi and cousin Shisui were off getting more refreshments which in their case meant beer.

In the meantime, Sasuke and his friends were having a beach volley tournament and his team had just beaten Suigetsu's. Next up was Naruto's team vs. Shikamaru's, and whoever won was to face Sasuke's in the final.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru stated as he got op from the comfortable position he had been in before, "can't we just give up and get it over with?"

"NO!" was the response he got from his team, and so, the lazy boy was forced to get into position.

"See you in the final, Sasuke," Naruto promised with a cheeky grin as she walked over him to stand in the position he had been in in the game that had just ended.

He arched a black eyebrow, a smirk on his face. "Oh? Do you think you can actually win against Shikamaru?"

"Pfft, that dude is going doooown." She flashed him her biggest grin and pushed him out of the field. "Now, go sit down and watch how _real_ volley is played."

Still chuckling and fully knowing that Naruto's team would win this round, Sasuke plopped down on the towel his best friends had occupied just moments before. He watched with mild amusement as Shikamru reluctantly started the game by sending the ball over the net to Naruto who in turn sent it back to Sakura who, with a well-placed smash, sent it over the net and down in the sand, thus scoring the first point.

Sasuke clapped along with the rest of the spectators who were sitting off to the sides so they wouldn't accidentally get hit by the ball. He took a sip of a random can of soda someone had forgotten in the sand, afterwards leading back, one leg stretched out and the other slightly bent, his arms behind him to support his weight as he continued to follow the ball with his eyes.

"Such a nice birthday as always, Sasuke-kun," someone to his left said and plopped down beside him.

He wasn't surprised when he turned his head to look his new beach neighbor. "Let me guess, my mom invited you, _as always_, and you agreed, _as always,_ so you could come here and ogle the girls on the beach, _as always_?"

Jiraiya grinned. After chuckling a bit, he answered, "you are almost correct. This time I was actually invited by your uncle Obito. Your lovely mom just agreed. And I am not here to ogle anyone; I am merely doing research for my next book."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke turned his attention back to the game where Ino, who was on Shikamaru's team, had just scored. The infamous author of the smut series 'Icha Icha' had always been invited along with the Uzumaki family. Sasuke wasn't sure why, but if he had to guess, it was because he was practically part of the family, being Naruto's godfather and all. Usually, he would accept and use the birthday party as an excuse to "observe" the other people on the beach, namely the young women who would wear nothing but small, almost non-existent bikinis. However, this time Sasuke was very surprised to see that the author was actually paying attention to the game.

The young Uchiha narrowed his dark eyes, looking back and forward between Jiraiya and the girls playing beach volley. "You are not ogling my friends, are you?" he asked suspiciously, "because that's just too gross, even coming from a pervert like you."

Jiraiya chuckled with amusement. "No, no, don't worry, they are too young. I do have certain standards, you know. I am simply enjoying the game and cheering on my favorite goddaughter."

"Right…" Sasuke drawled sarcastically, clearly not believing him.

"Okay, you had me there," Jiraiya admitted, "I am actually watching the interactions between your friends. I find them very interesting. You see, I wasn't actually lying when I said I was here for research."

He arched an eyebrow, silently asking the older man to elaborate.

"Try looking at your friends," the author said and nodded in the direction of the birthday guests, "see how they communicate with each other, and tell me who likes who."

The young Uchiha blinked. "Well, it's quite obvious that Karin and Suigetsu are into each other since they are dating..."

"And if they weren't dating, the fact that they are sitting so close together would be a good indicator that there's chemistry between them," Jiraiya finished, "now, look at someone else, someone who is not dating, and tell me who they are attracted to."

Not exactly sure why he actually did it, Sasuke observed his friends closely, well-aware that Jiraiya was watching him. The first thing he noticed was that every time there was a break in the game or Ino had just scored, the blonde girl would look in the direction of Sai in the hopes of gaining his attention. Said boy would smile back with that weird smile of his before the game continued. Lee, who was actually not playing, but instead cheering loudly and youthfully from the sidelines, clearly had a thing for Sakura. Okay, Sasuke already knew that, hell, the entire school new that, as the captain of the soccer club had continued to pursue the pink-haired girl with declarations of love and eternal devotion since the first time he had laid his eyes upon her. Sakura had rejected him every time, but the boy would probably never give up. At least not until they graduated and Sakura moved as far away from him as possible to become a doctor.

He informed the older man of his observations and received a round of applause in return. "You are very insightful, Sasuke-kun. With a bit more practice you could become as good as me."

He'd rather not.

"Now," Jiraiya continued, "if you had looked a bit closer you could've clearly seen the tension between Neji-kun and Tenten-san. They are very good at hiding it, but the great Jiraiya-sama isn't fooled by anyone!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but had to agree with his friend's godfather. Now that he was actually looking, he could clearly see by Tenten's body language that she was interested in Neji. Of course, Neji, being who he was, was impossible to decipher, so he'd have to trust Jiraiya on that one.

"Do you get my point?" the author said, "by noticing how young people in love interact, I am able to make my work more believable and interesting. You young ones go through so much drama; it's perfect for my books."

He grunted in response, actually seeing what the older man was saying, but definitely not admitting it.

His beach neighbor chuckled as the young Uchiha turned his attention back to the game. Smirking, Jiraiya looked to the sides, making sure no one was within hearing range, before asking, "and what about you?"

Sasuke glanced at him out of the corners of his eyes. "What about me?"

"Is there anyone you are attracted to?"

A suppressed sigh, onyx eyes turning back to the game. "No."

An arched eyebrow. "None at all?"

"As I said, old man, I am not interested in anyone."

"Such a shame." A pause. "What about Naruto?"

A snort. "She's my friend."

Jiraiya grinned knowingly. "Oh yes, I'm sure Ino-chan and Sai-kun are just friends."

"That's different."

"Oh? How so?"

"First of all, Naruto and I are childhood friends. Just the thought that we would end up together is… crazy. Besides, shit like that only happens in romance novels, and despite what you may believe, this is the real world, not one of your books. Second, Naruto and I don't see each other as someone from the opposite gender as Ino and Sai do. Hell, I doubt Naruto is even aware there is a difference between boys and girls other than the length of hair and the different restrooms."

Jiraiya smirked. "Whether Naruto is aware of the difference or not, doesn't change the fact that she is female and you are male. Subconsciously and biologically, you know you don't have the same chromosomes. Now the question is when you will realize it."

Sasuke snorted. "I _know_ we are not of the same gender, I am not completely oblivious."

"Something tells me you are if you aren't able to see how Naruto has grown into such a fine young woman. But try to look at her. Try to really _look_ at her."

"Hmp, creep," the young Uchiha muttered, and yet – without having the faintest clue to why he did as the pervert had suggested – he let his gaze fall on his best friend who had just sent the ball over the net. Her long, blonde pigtails were flowing in the air due to the jump she just performed, and her rosy lips stretched into a huge grin when Chouji failed to hit the ball.

The game had ended.

Naruto's team had won. They had practically wiped the floor with their opponents.

Grinning all over, she high-fived her teammates and made sure to rub it in Shikamaru's face that her team were far superior. However, as usual, the lazy boy didn't care one inch and claimed he'd rather lose than have to play again so soon. His teammates whispered to each other that he had probably lost on purpose.

Naruto turned to Sasuke next. "Alright Uchiha, are you ready to get the beating of a lifetime?" she demanded, index finger pointing at him, the other hand resting on her hip.

He arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Naruto, you are aware that volley is not a contact sport, right?" A scornful smirk slowly crept over his lips as he continued, "but I guess this information might be new to a stupid idiot like you."

Easily baited as she was, she huffed, crossing her arms, eyebrow furrowing. "Just get up you lazy ass. Or do you want to forfeit beforehand?"

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" he retorted and slowly, ever so slowly - just to annoy her – got up from his seat, subconsciously stretching his muscles (Jiraiya grinned smugly and had already began to take notes) before he took his place on the field where his team was already waiting.

Sakura started with the ball and sent it flying over the net where Neji, who was on Sasuke's team, expectedly sent it on to Tenten who sent it back over the net to Naruto.

And so the game continued.

Meanwhile, Sasuke couldn't help but think about what Jiraiya had said. Not the attraction thing, but the thing about how Naruto had grown into a fine young woman. He had never really thought about it before. Naruto had always just been… Naruto - his best friend. Of course, unlike her, he was very aware that there was a difference between boys and girls. After all, he had experienced it first hand when all those annoying fan girls of his had decided they liked boys. But somehow… somehow Naruto had never really been a girl in his eyes. Perhaps because she had never been a fan girl, but then again, neither had Hinata, and Sasuke had always seen her as a girl. It had to be the demeanor then, he concluded. Hinata was always acting like a girl unlike Naruto who always spent her time playing or fighting with boys.

But she was still a girl, wasn't she?

No. Not a girl, she was a young woman.

In the old times, she could have been married by now. Of course, it was in the very old days, but it still made him feel terribly awkward just thinking about it.

Onyx eyes stared at the blonde girl while the body they belonged to was somehow running on auto-pilot. Yes, he hit the ball, yes, he sent it over the net and so on, but he wasn't really focusing on it. It was like he, for the first time, was actually _looking_ at Naruto. Not his friend Naruto, but the female naruto.

Her striking blue eyes, whisker-like birthmarks, bright cheerful smile, and long yellow hair were quite familiar to him. What was below her face, he hadn't really thought about before. But now he did.

Although she wasn't as well-endowed in the chest department as Hinata was, she was definitely not flat-chested. In fact, now that he had acknowledged that she had… breasts, it was like he could not unsee, especially not now when Naruto was jumping around. Because every time she did that, her chest would bounce…

Anyway, her waist was thin and her stomach flat despite all the unhealthy ramen she always devoured and the fresh vegetables she seemed to avoid like the plague. He supposed it had something to do with her level of activeness. Teachers often scolded her for being unable to sit still in class, and she was always the last one to arrive and the first one to leave the classroom. The only reason she avoided detentions were probably because their English teacher was always late, and the rest of the staff respected her dad (feared her insane mom) too much to dare keep her after school. After school she would always fool around, pull pranks, and practice martial arts, whatever didn't revolve around sitting still for a long time. The high activity-level also ensured that her legs were long and slender, and her arms were muscled after the constant fights she took part in.

All in all, he supposed she was very good-looking, and he admitted to himself that if he hadn't known her all his life, he would definitely tap that. Which led to the realization that he should not be thinking those kinds of thoughts about his best friend.

Which led to the realization that he was a disgusting pig who should have known better than listen to Jiraiya.

Which led to the realization that the damn pervert had been absolutely right.

Which _again_ led to the realization that he was utterly doomed.

Because now that Sasuke had realized his best friend was indeed a fine young woman, he could not unsee. The tomboy Naruto had become the female Naruto, and the young Uchiha _male_ could never look at her the same way as before.

Too caught up in the epiphany he had just experienced, he did not see the ball headed right for his head. Of course, a volley ball wasn't as hard as a football, but it had been shot by Naruto, and his earlier descriptions of her muscled arms were definitely correct. The result was a trip to the sand and a nose streaming with blood.

He was surrounded by his friends before he even had time to comprehend what had happened.

"Oi bastard, are you okay?" Naruto asked, crouching down beside him, a slightly worried expression on her face. The amusement was still present though. Equal expressions could be found on the other's faces. Except on Sai who only seemed to be amused, and on Jiraiya who was rolling with laughter on the sideline.

"I'm fine," Sasuke replied, sitting up, a hand holding his bloody nose to prevent the sand from getting too red, "I was just a little distracted, didn't see the ball coming." He pretended not to notice how close Naruto was to him, and not certainly the fact that she was only wearing shorts and a bikini top.

She grinned. "You going blind on your old days?"

"I'm only a few months older than you, hag," he retorted.

"Leave it, you two," Sakura scolded as she, too, crouched down beside Sasuke to examine his nose.

It was weird, Sasuke thought, that he wasn't affected by Sakura at all even though she was wearing just as little as Naruto and was physically much closer to him at that moment. He had always known she was a girl – her being a former fan girl and all – but he had just never been interested. It was Naruto's bright blue eyes that sucked him in, not Sakura's green ones.

"It doesn't seem to be broken," the pink-haired girl concluded, "but I still think it's best if you take a break and stop the bleeding." She stood up again and addressed the others, "anyone wanna take Sasuke's place in the game?"

Sai volunteered, and Naruto helped Sasuke up from the sand as the others got back to their positions.

"Sorry about that," she said, giving him an apologetic smile, "I thought you'd get it. Forgive me?"

He smirked. "No."

"Meanie." She stuck her tongue out, crossing her arms sourly.

He suppressed the urge to… do something he'd surely regret. Instead he chuckled and shook his head at her antics. "There is nothing to forgive; I should have paid more attention to the game."

"Heh, you bastard, get some rest, will you?" She pulled him into a tight hug which he gingerly returned with the hand that wasn't preventing blood from running. All too aware of the fact that he was bare-chested and she only was wearing a bikini top, he tried not to let too many perverted thoughts run through his mind. He failed miserably.

After what felt like an eternity and yet at the same time only a microsecond, she let him go with a smile and returned to the other side of the net.

Remembering that he was supposed to rest, and after noticing that Sai was smiling at him with that weird smile of his, silently signaling that the birthday boy should get going, Sasuke left the field to find his previous spot.

"Looks like someone's had a change of heart," Jiraiya stated, his lips stretched into a knowing, triumphant smirk as the raven haired boy sat down beside him.

"Shut it!"

The meanest, most evil glare Sasuke could muster was directed at the pervert beside him, but it didn't shut him up. In fact, it only made the older man laugh to his heart's content. Because no matter how much Sasuke tried to, the pink that tinged his cheeks would not go away.

* * *

**A/N: I have to admit that I am very nervous about posting this, because I haven't written anything for the Naruto fandom in **_**ages**_**. However, I absolutely adore this pairing and just had to write a story with them.**

**Please leave a review if you want more. Next chapter will be out depending on inspiration.**

**Hope you enjoyed it xD**


	2. Mr President

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had actually written this chapter about a month ago, but after my fellow Viking – Mikey H – had looked through it and given his opinion, I decided to rewrite some major parts of it. Looking back I'm quite glad I did.**

**If you think Sasuke is OOC in this story, then yes, he is. Mostly because all of his family members are still alive and he isn't a ninja. Therefore I decided to base Sasuke on how he was before the Uchiha massacre along with how I think he would have grown up to be had shit not happened. Hopefully you will accept it. If not, then you are free to read another fic xD**

**And 22 reviews for a first chapter? Holy moly! Thank you so much!**

* * *

_**-Mr. President-**_

His footsteps felt heavier than usual as he almost dragged himself to school that morning. His shoulder bag weighted a ton and the sun was almost blinding him with its bright rays of annoying light. In all honestly he just wanted to go home and hide under his bed, so he would not be forced into the confrontation that was to come in a few minutes when Naruto would tackle him and he would see her again.

Because since that day…

Ever since that dreadful, horrible - but at the same time - sunny day (literally) where he had realized Naruto was indeed a fine young woman, Sasuke had not been the same. Okay, of course he _was_ still the same, but he didn't _feel_ the same. And it was all that damned Jiraiya's fault!

Had the old pervert not implied such… such… crazy things as he had, Sasuke would still be living in obliviousness and been perfectly happy that way. Unlike many other boys he did not crave a girlfriend or the benefits such a person would give him. Not much anyway. If he really did, if he really was desperate, he could have almost every girl he wanted, but so far the youngest Uchiha had remained single. Of course, he didn't plan on being single for the rest of his life, but he would have been fine going through High School without a girlfriend. It gave him more time to focus on being the top of his year just like Itachi had been.

Thus this sudden… _awareness _of Naruto's gender was only a bother to him. Of course, he knew that from acknowledging she was a girl and to actually dating her was a looooong shot and definitely exaggerating things, but when her bright, cheerful smile would constantly pop into his head during the day, it was unsettling. Not her smile of course, he loved that, but the fact that he _felt _something was disturbing.

He hadn't even seen her since that sunny day, which made him worry about his reaction to seeing her again. He hated to admit it but he had been distancing himself from her, pretending to be occupied with homework and other school activities which he knew she loathed. Of course she had called him quite often and demanded that he stopped being such a twat and instead went out with her. He had chosen not to comment on the other, more couple-like meaning her words had. There was no way she would ever think those thoughts. And previously, he wouldn't have thought them either. Stupid Jiraiya.

He couldn't deny he loved it when she called though, which she would do almost daily, and he certainly couldn't deny that he missed her. However, just the thought that he was going to see her made him feel uncomfortable and unsure of himself. Because how would he act around her? Would he still be able to be his usual, sometimes cold self, or would he turn into a babbling fool who couldn't even look her in the eyes without pink staining his cheeks? He shook his head at his own foolishness. Of course he would never become like that. He was an Uchiha after all.

He got no time to speculate further on things as the distinctive sound of running footsteps echoed in the street behind him. However Sasuke did not stop. He just continued at his normal pace, fully expecting the loud, familiar voice that shouted, "SASUKE!" before he was being tackled by a blonde female who latched herself on to her back with an incredible force only fueled by the speed she had had.

"Hello to you too, Naruto," he said with a wry smile as he let himself be spun around to be embraced in a tight, almost desperate hug.

"I've missed you," his best friend said, her voice slightly muffled due to her face being buried in his shoulder.

"I missed you too," he told her sincerely.

"No you didn't," she stated as she lifted her head and glared at him; Sasuke was almost tacked aback by the sheer force behind it. At the same time though, he was relieved because he wasn't sure what his reaction would be if she had smiled. "If you really did miss me, you would have taken some time out of your busy, stupid homework schedule and spent some time with me, bastard." She released him.

"Sorry…" And he was sorry. He hadn't thought she would be this affected by his absence. "But you know how important it is for me to stay at the top."

"You and your stupid second son complex," she grumbled irritated, but her lips stretched into a small smile nonetheless, "just don't pull a stunt like that again, okay? I miss you too much when I don't see you."

"Overly attached, aren't we?" he remarked, a black eyebrow arched in tease.

She punched him. Not hard. At least not as hard as he knew she was able to. "Well excuse me for being an only child. My parents are always busy so I feel terribly alone when you, too, don't have time for me."

"How about your other friends?"

"I'd rather hang out with you," she told him flatly, causing a satisfied smirk to break out on his face. She grinned at his smugness. "You're my best bud after all. So don't avoid me again, okay?"

He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Of course Naruto didn't actually accuse him of having avoided her. She honestly believed his terrible story about homework and business, but the truth was that he _had_ avoided her, so her words stung painfully true.

He felt like a fool now; he shouldn't have avoided her. So what if he was aware of her gender? That didn't mean he could act like a complete asshole towards his best friend. And so far he hadn't even reacted any different than his usual self. Not counting his increased heartbeat of course. Mentally, he applauded himself on a job well done, but at the same time he felt the sting of regret. He had wasted precious time with worrying about nothing, time he could have spent with her.

"I promise," he said, and he really did mean it. He'd just have to swallow his own awkwardness whenever it surfaced.

* * *

Dark, onyx eyes looked into sky blue ones, both pairs narrowed slightly in determination as the bodies they belonged to circled each other, intently searching for an opening in the other's defense.

A smirk "Do you really think you can beat me?"

A snort. "Of course I can, bastard. Just because you are a boy doesn't make you stronger than me."

He found it quite taunting; the way she casually pointed out that they weren't of the same gender. She didn't even know what she was saying, nor the effect her words had on him. Of course, her words _shouldn't _have an effect on him, but that was what they had nonetheless.

"Even if you were a boy, I would still beat you, Naruto." He made sure to reply the same way he always would.

His muscles tensed right before Naruto lunged at him, his right arm going up to block the fist she directed at his chest. He responded in kind, aiming a kick for her abdomen. She blocked before she attacked again. He retaliated.

Like a vicious dance they exchanged blows in a pace faster than most other members of the Martial Arts club could follow. There was no doubt that Sasuke and Naruto were the top fighters in the club, which was also why Tenten had paired them up; no one else stood a chance. Except Neji, but he had already fought against Tenten earlier.

Naruto's expression mirrored his own; she was just as eager to win as he was, and he loved it. It wouldn't be fun if she gave him the victory as some of his fan girls had done back in the day. No, when he was fighting Naruto, he didn't need to hold back, even if she was a girl. Because he knew that the moment he relaxed just a tiny bit, would be the moment he lost.

Sasuke licked his lips in anticipation. He loved fighting. He loved the freedom it gave him and the way it allowed him to let out all of his frustrations. And when he was faced against a strong opponent like the one he was facing right now, it was even better. It was a challenge. It was thrilling. It also excited him because he was facing Naruto who was most obviously a girl. His pride dictated that he won, but his male instincts also wanted to dominate her, wanted to show her that he was capable of protecting her against any kind of danger. Naturally he wasn't aware of this, but his subconsciousness was, and right now it was screaming at him to take control of the battle.

So he did.

He forced more strength out in his muscles, forced himself to concentrate on the fight, and on predicting Naruto's next moves. He increased the pace. Naruto did so too. However, she couldn't quite keep up with him. It became harder for her to block, harder for her to break through his defenses and hit him. Sasuke was winning.

Pouring all of his strength into one final punch to the midriff, he forced the air out of her lungs and sent her down to the floor. She stayed down.

"Alright." Tenten clapped her hands, signaling the end of the fight. "Well fought, Naruto."

"Che, I lost," the blonde said, panting heavily as she was lying on the floor, her arms and legs spread out to the sides in defeat, her usually bright blue eyes glazed over with fatigue.

"Don't be sad, idiot," Sasuke said, his face smug as he offered a hand to help her up from the floor, "had you faced everyone else but me, you would probably have won."

She scowled as she let him help her up, but he knew she wasn't angry at all, only determined to beat him in their next fight.

"Sasuke is right, Naruto," Tenten assured her, "you are most definitely the strongest girl I know."

"But I don't want to be the strongest girl, I want to be the strongest in total!" the blonde whined.

"Then you better train harder," Sasuke remarked, silently enjoying the way her chest was going up and down when she panted.

"Believe me, I will!"

"Okay, everyone!" Tenten said loudly so everyone in the room could hear, "training is over for today. Get dressed and go home and get some rest. I expect you to be fit for fight next time we meet!"

"See you outside, bastard," Naruto promised as she left with Tenten and the rest of the few females who were also members of the Martial Arts club.

* * *

He stood under the shower, the water colder than usual. It wasn't ice cold, but still below what would be considered normal.

He cursed inwardly.

During the day he had discovered that he was perfectly able to act his usual bastard self around Naruto without feeling too awkward on the inside. However, the fight had been completely different. Yes, he did still respond to her antics like he always did, but he felt very, very differently. The fight had been thrilling in a whole new way and he had discovered deeply buried primal instincts which came to the surface when he clashed with Naruto. It was frightening in a way, but also extremely exciting.

It was bad news nonetheless.

The excitement.

It was worse than knowing she was a girl. He had felt weird at his birthday, and now, when he had also felt himself _react _to her gender, it was probably only going to get worse, get more awkward.

He was interrupted in his thoughts when Neji apparently decided the Uchiha had spent long enough time in the shower and asked him when he'd come out because there was something he wanted to discuss with him.

"I'll be there in a minute," Sasuke answered and quickly turned off the water before he reached for his towel to dry himself with. Afterwards, he excited the shower stalls and went over to his belongings where he began dressing. Neji was standing beside him, already fully dressed in his school uniform and ready to leave. Sasuke had apparently been in the shower for much longer than he had thought since all the other boys had already left. He briefly wondered what it was his senpai wanted to talk to him about for him to wait. However, he didn't voice his question before he was dressed in both underwear and pants.

"It's about the upcoming election for the student council," Neji answered, "I'm planning on running for president."

The Uchiha nodded, putting on his socks. "I think you would be a good president. But what does that have to do with me?"

"I want both you and Naruto-san in the student council with me." The older boy looked expectantly at his kouhai, his arms crossed as he awaited an answer.

Sasuke arched and eyebrow in shocked surprise. He even halted in putting on his other sock. "But we are only freshmen," he objected.

"There are no rules prohibiting freshmen from running for the student council," Neji stated, "granted, it has happened only few times, but I do not doubt that you two would get in. Especially Naruto, as she would score a lot of votes for being the daughter of our mayor."

"I suppose you are right," Sasuke said, standing up again to put on his shirt, "but I think that she would get most of her votes because she is Naruto, not the daughter of Minato. Even if the fool doesn't realize it herself, she is quite popular."

"And she wants to pursue a career in politics, right?" Neji inquired, "beginning in the student council would be a great start."

The young Uchiha nodded as he finished buttoning his shirt. "A great start indeed, but what about me? It's not like I intend to involve myself in politics and intrigue."

"I want someone I can work with and trust," the older student said matter-of-factly, "the both of you fit right into that category."

"I take that as a compliment." Sasuke smirked as he put on the jacket of his school uniform. "And if you really think I should run for a position then I will. I'm sure my father will approve too."

"Excellent." Neji looked very pleased.

"Have you talked to Naruto about this?" The kouhai hoisted the back over his shoulder, signaling to his senpai that he was ready to go.

"No. I thought it would be better if you were the one to ask her."

"Why? Her response will most likely be sometime like: 'Alright! let's do this shit!'" He fist pumped in a very Naruto-like manner.

A chuckle escaped the usually stoic Neji. "Perfect imitation, I must say."

"One learns a thing or two when being around her for so long," Sasuke remarked, a wry smile on his lips, "anyhow, I'll ask her for you. We're going to hang out together today anyway. Might as well ask her then."

The aspiring president of the student council smiled. "I'm counting on you."

* * *

**A/N: Yup, that was it for now. Please tell me what you think. I do enjoy your reviews xD**


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